"A family based in North London wants to find an exceptional and qualified educator to guide their smallest child on his early path to becoming an English gentleman."
When reading this advertisement, you might naturally miss the wording "initial stages" as mere a turn of phrase.
Yet, it may be the most significant part of this distinctive position posting, as it attempts to recruit a mentor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of submissions have now been submitted since the unnamed family posted their request for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "someone very special".
Over the last few weeks, the listing has gained interest in the press, with numerous asking why?
Progressive Approach
The CEO, CEO and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is helping the family in their search, said that despite initial scepticism, he found the idea "far sighted", and "innovative".
When he spoke with the family, he noted they appreciated the atypical character of their request, and how early in age their son is.
However, they clarified that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their older child was five, and by that age "cultural conditioning had by then set in".
What exactly did the family indicate by "cultural leaning"?
It's "everything", the expert replied. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".
He explained the older sibling had picked up "really subtle, unspoken signals" from the family, and had adopted their cultural ways. The family informed him they hoped to prevent history to recur with their new baby.
The strategy: To bring in a British tutor, who should speak with Received Pronunciation, to influence the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"Much of the education at the outset here is rather osmotic," stated the CEO.
It's through this osmosis that the family are hoping the child will pick up the English characteristics they wish to instil.
The consultant noted the tutor needed to be somebody who attended "prestigious academies – similar types of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The educator simply needs to be the suitable individual, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he added.
Money No Object
The family informed Adam the selected educator should preferably also have understanding of or passion in equestrian activities, winter sports, the arts and instrumental training so as to inspire the child in a diverse set of hobbies.
Additionally though, he said the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "equestrian training and picking up an instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's minds, assisting their son grow into a "English gentleman" will result in achievement and provide access.
"Considering the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a social class indicator," he notes.
But, in spite of all this guidance in "English culture", could the child pick up alleged cultural leaning from the multicultural family he lives with anyway?
"Yes", answered he. "The parents know this could fail, but they've merely embraced the perspective of, 'let's give it a go and we'll proceed as soon as we can', because the price of it is not relevant," he said.
Impractical
A number of in the private teaching field who express these concerns.
An education leader, chief executive of Blue Education, who supplies private tutors, commented that "the process of adopting dual cultures, or actually, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
Peter wrote that he had relocated from Asia to the UK at the age of seven, and had been brought up knowing and living both cultures. He continued to study at Cambridge University.
"The idea that a single person can serve as a representation of UK identity, a person who can possibly transfer the attributes of a English gentleman upon a one-year-old child, appears idealistic and impractical," he commented.
"In my experience, engaging a distinctly British tutor from babyhood will not necessarily produce the result they want.
"I did not have such a figure, and yet I have been lucky enough to live numerous of the experiences they desire for their son."
He added: "The fact is, self-identity cannot be dictated from the outside; it must be chosen, and it must come from within."
Acquiring Englishness
Naturally, English culture is something Adam believes can be taught – and commercialized.
"In my view the situation that the global community holds us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
